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Providing day care in the workplace can have many benefits for companies, including improving employee morale, lowering turnover and attracting a wider variety of applicants. Although providing workplace day care can be expensive, many companies find that it actually saves money in decreasing employee absenteeism and turnover. Several options exist, from bring-your-baby-to-work programs to on-site day care and cooperatives between small companies.

Employee Benefits

Workplace day care is an important benefit for many employees, allowing them to spend more time with their children during the workday. Some on-site programs allow employees to spend lunch and breaks with their children or for new mothers to pop in and breastfeed. Parents can travel to and from work with their children, increasing the amount of time they spend together. Workplace day care also decreases anxiety for some parents, improving their ability to concentrate on their jobs.

Company Benefits

Workplace day care can improve employee morale and lower absenteeism and turnover because fewer employees need to take time off to look after their children, according to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek. This leads to lower company costs. The same article cites a study in the book “Kids at Work: The Value of Employer-Sponsored On-Site Child Care Centers” in which two large companies saved $150,000 and $250,000 in wages through providing on-site day care. Another big savings is realized in bringing new mothers back to work sooner, allowing companies to save in hiring and training replacements.

Day Care Options

A large company with a high number of employees may opt to open an on-site day care center serving only its own employees. For other companies, a better option may be to partner with a local organization or school to provide services. For example, a shortage of affordable day care in Rochester, Minnesota, led to a partnership between day care provider Child Care Resource and IBM. A new day care facility was built adjacent to IBM, with IBM’s financial assistance. Smaller companies located near each other can consider joining to open a nearby day care cooperative. Another option is partnering with a local day care to accept employee children at a discount.

Disadvantages

Before opting for a workplace day care program, companies need to consider if it is indeed the best option. If too few employees take up the day care places, it could end up costing a lot of money. The day care center must have the flexibility to appeal to a wide variety of parents. On-site day care is not an option for parents with older children. Your company needs to think of ways to accommodate parents with younger school-age children who cannot use day care but still need supervision after school. Providing for workplace day care should be a comprehensive policy, which can take time and resources to develop.

About the Author

Since graduating with a degree in biology, Lisa Magloff has worked in many countries. Accordingly, she specializes in writing about science and travel and has written for publications as diverse as the "Snowmass Sun" and "Caterer Middle East." With numerous published books and newspaper and magazine articles to her credit, Magloff has an eclectic knowledge of everything from cooking to nuclear reactor maintenance.